The Litur gica l Year : A n Annua l Cycle of the Myster ies of Christ, Mary, and the Saints The appointed feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, my appointed feasts, are these. ~ Leviticus 23:2

HE CHURCH has estab- lished a way for the Tfaithful to remember, celebrate, and live to- day the events of Christ’s life on earth. She offers a way to sanctify (make holy) every moment of every day through the celebration of the Mass and the praying of the Litur- gy of the Hours. By devel- oping a special calendar, the Church gives us periodic re- minders to keep our faith alive and inspire us to grow deep- er in our love for Christ with the passing years. In the cel- ebration of special days, the Church helps us to redeem White vestments denote special times of celebration in the life of Church such the gift of time. as and Christmas Like the four seasons, the mystery of the Redemption. Easter was the first an- Church year follows a cycle. There is indeed a natu- nual feast celebrated by the early and the ral ebb and flow to the spiritual life of the Church. only feast the Church celebrated for the first three In accordance with the motions of human nature, hundred years. The feast of Christmas was recorded the Church year gradually unfolds the mysteries of as initially being celebrated in 335-336 AD. Over the Christ’s life, repeating the cycle each year. Begin- centuries, the Church developed many special festi- ning with the immense anticipation of the Incarna- val days to praise and worship God and celebrate tion during the season of Advent, and the celebration his loving intervention in human history. In the ear- of the Incarnation during the Christmas season, the ly centuries, local church communities also remem- Church remembers and celebrates Christ’s public bered those who heroically witnessed to their faith ministry; his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and As- especially the martyrs. Thus, the powerful example cension; the coming of the Holy Spirit to the infant of the martyrs was elevated before the eyes of all the Church at ; and the ever-present hope for faithful, and their courageous testimony was remem- the coming of his reign as the King of Kings. bered. Pope Pius V compiled a universal Church A Brief History and “The Church gives us periodic calendar in 1568, which was Explanation of the based on local church calen- reminders to keep our faith dars. It was not until 1589 that the term “Church year” The Church calendar has alive and inspire us to grow was first used. By 1955, the always revolved around the feast days of 338 saints were celebration of Easter and the deeper in our love for Christ.”

The Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM) grants the original purchaser (parish, local parochial institution, or individual) permission to reproduce this handout. highlighted by the calendar. Vatican II established ebration of the highest rank that commemorates an new norms for recognizing feast days and provided event, a person, or a belief of the greatest signifi- the simplified calendar that the Church uses today. cance and universal importance in salvation history. Examples of solemnities include Christmas, Easter, A Description of the Liturgical Calendar Pentecost, Christ the King, the Immaculate Concep- The liturgical calen- tion of Mary, and the So- dar contains two cycles. “The Lord’s Day is a lemnity of St. Joseph. A The first is called the Tem- feast is also a liturgical cele- poral Cycle and includes little Easter.” bration of great importance, all Sundays and feasts of but is of a lower rank than a our Lord. Every Sunday solemnity. Special feasts in- is a renewed celebration clude the feasts of the Holy of Christ’s Resurrection Family, the Baptism of the from the dead; indeed, the Lord, the Transfiguration, Lord’s Day is “a little Eas- and the Birth of Mary. The ter.” We honor the Lord lowest rank of a feast day on this holy day by prayer- is a memorial. Some exam- fully participating in the ples of memorials are those Mass, spending time with of the Guardian Angels, of our families and with those , who are in need, and by and of the saints (such as avoiding unnecessary hard St. Thomas Aquinas or St. work and labor (see CCC Thérèse of Lisieux). 2186). Some of the feast days which are set aside The Liturgical Seasons to honor the Lord include Advent: Advent is the be- the feasts of the Baptism ginning of the liturgical of the Lord, Corpus Chris- year and lasts between three ti (the Body and Blood of and four weeks. It is a sea- Christ), the Transfigura- son filled with tremendous tion, Christ the King, and hope and anticipation as we Illuminated List of the Gospels, 8th century, St. Augustine’s the Sacred Heart. These Abbey, Canterbury, England await expectantly the Sec- are special days of solem- ond Coming of the Lord. It nity and celebration. is also a penitential season in which we repent for The second cycle in the liturgical calendar is called our sins and reform our lives so that we are ready to the Sanctoral Cycle and includes the feast days of the meet him when he comes. Through the liturgy, we Virgin Mary, the martyrs, and the saints. Martyrs’ share in the hope of the Jewish people; our antici- feast days were developed in local churches as a way pation resembles theirs as they waited for the com- to honor those holy men and women who were per- ing of the Messiah. Toward the end of Advent, we secuted and died for their faith. The Church com- remember again the events surrounding the Lord’s munity celebrates their martyrdom as their birth into birth and prepare ourselves for the celebration of the glory of eternal life. Later on, those who suffered Christmas. In the Advent liturgy, the whole Church for confessing the faith (confessors) were honored, cries out, “Maranatha — come, Lord , come!” as were holy virgins and other holy men and wom- (see Rv 22:20). en, both lay and clergy. Amidst the feast days that Themes: Joyful expectation, penance, reform, commemorate the lives of the saints, there are special hope. days that honor the Queen of the Saints, the Mother Liturgical Color: Purple. of God. Some of the Marian feast days include the Christmas: During the Christmas season, we cel- feasts of Mary the Mother of God, the , ebrate the birth of Christ our Savior and the events the , and the Assumption. of his early childhood. We stand in awe of the God- There are three distinct levels for ranking the feast Man, the Word made flesh, who came to save us. days in the Church. A solemnity is the liturgical cel- We never tire of pondering the greatest event in hu-

Liturgical Year — Page 2 man history, the moment that Divine Love assumed the form of a human being. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Themes: Joy, peace, Christ as the Light of the World, the Incarnation. Liturgical Color: White. Lent: Lent is the period of forty days that precede the holiest days of the year (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter). It is a time of preparation, of renewed repentance of our sins, and a new turning to God. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence (fasting means we make a significant sacrifice in the amount of food we eat; ab- stinence means we abstain from meat). Fridays dur- ing Lent are days of abstinence. Themes: Prayer, penance, sacrifice. Liturgical Color: Purple. Easter: Through the proclamation of the Word in the liturgy, we relive once more the miraculous events of that first Easter Sunday. The tomb is empty! Christ has risen from the dead, conquering it. It is because of the Resurrection of Christ that we need no longer fear death — if we live in Christ, we shall also rise from death. Forty days after Easter we celebrate his PHOTOGRAPHY CHARLES DAVID Ascension into Heaven. Ten days later we commem- days of obligation and attending Mass on these days orate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. is required. These holy days commemorate Chris- Themes: New life in Christ, light, Christian vic- tian mysteries of profound and universal importance. tory. There are six holy days (listed in the order they oc- Liturgical Color: White (red for Pentecost). cur in the liturgical year: Ordinary Time: During this season, we remember December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception God’s plan in salvation history and his covenant with of the Blessed Virgin Mary his people. There are thirty-four weeks of ordinary December 25, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord time, a few between the end of the Christmas sea- January 1, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, son and Lent, and the remainder following Pentecost Mother of God through the end of the liturgical year. Ascension Thursday (Solemnity of the Ascension of the Themes: Growth, journey in Christ. Lord), forty days after Easter Sunday unless Liturgical Color: Green. the bishop transfers it to the last Sunday be- fore Pentecost Holy Days of Obligation August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed In addition to every Sunday, there are other days Virgin Mary in which the faithful are obliged to participate in the November 1, Solemnity of All Saints. Eucharistic celebration. These days are called holy (CCC 1163-1173)

“The Church year gradually unfolds the mysteries of Christ’s life.”

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